


Not All Hearts Break

by STARSdidathing



Series: The "You Belong With Me" Series [85]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Break Up, Emotional Infidelity, Falling In Love, Feels, Fluff, Getting Together, Guilt, Happy Ending, Hopeful Ending, Hugs, Loki & Tony Stark Friendship, Loki (Marvel) Feels, Loki (Marvel) Gets a Hug, Loki (Marvel) Needs a Hug, Love, M/M, Minor Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Mutual Pining, Pepper Potts Feels, Pining, Post-Avengers (2012), Tony Feels, Tony Stark Gets a Hug, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Unspecified Setting, Wordcount: 100-1.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-18
Updated: 2019-04-18
Packaged: 2020-01-15 22:10:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18508078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/STARSdidathing/pseuds/STARSdidathing
Summary: Sometimes you don't fall in love with the right person first.





	Not All Hearts Break

Tony had fallen in love twice.

The first had been with Pepper; sweet, perfect, ray of sunshine Pepper Potts. She made him feel like he was a good person and that he could be more than the Merchant of Death.

The second was with Loki; chaotic, mischievous and genius trickster God. He made Tony feel like he could do anything and that Loki would be there to encourage him to higher and higher heights.

They both brought out different parts of him. They both made him feel like he could _be_ something or someone better than what he was.

Pepper made him feel like he could be a good person. Loki made him feel like he could be a _better_ person.

And that wasn’t the problem. The _problem_ was that he fell in love with Loki while he was still dating Pepper.

He hadn’t meant to do it, God, Tony truly hadn’t.

Loki had been sent to Earth for redemption and somewhere along the line, distrust turned to intrigue and a fast friendship turned to unshakeable, _unbreakable_ love.

Tony still tried to deny it. He then tried to _ignore_ it.

Yet, he found his gaze catching Loki’s in the lab, their manic grins softening with shared affectionate and longing. They would always look away. They would always step apart. They would always silently continue as if they weren’t aware of what lingered between them.

_Love._

They were _in love_ and Tony felt guilt pull at him from all sides.

Sometimes, he tried to avoid Loki, not because he didn’t trust himself, but because he _hated_ what he was doing to the mage. Loki always found him. He then gave him an assessing look, and gently pulled him back down to the lab. 

“ _Don’t leave me to my boredom, Stark. Your tower will only suffer for it._ ”

Loki understood. He told him without words that it didn’t matter, that he shouldn’t feel guilty. Loki had never once tried to win Tony’s heart. He stood to the side and enjoyed their friendship.

So instead of avoiding Loki, Tony doted on Pepper. He whisked her away for romantic weekends, he signed contracts without complaint and he dropped anything if she asked for him. He was overcompensating, but he _did_ love her. She was kind and perfect and he didn’t deserve her.

And sometimes, he almost believed it was okay. He almost believed she was all he could ever need.

But one look at Loki and Tony knew he was fooling himself. 

Pepper was wonderful, and maybe she could have been enough, maybe _they_ would have been enough. But where Pepper might compliment him, Loki _matched_ him. 

Pepper guided him back down and assured him he was good enough. Loki grabbed his hand to tug him higher and asked him, ‘ _why not be something **more**?_’

It was two different kinds of love, and in the end, only one of them could win.

He still felt horrible. He felt _wretched_ by the time he made his way down to Loki’s floor of the tower.

Tony didn’t even have to knock before Loki was pulling open the door. His green eyes were pools of concern.

“Anthony,” he murmured, using the name he always avoided. They tried not to encourage the intimacy. It was why Loki always used _‘Stark’_.

Yet, he reached out and pulled Tony inside by the arm, his touches careful and supportive. “What has happened?”

His gaze said everything; Loki would listen and comfort him. Loki would avenge him too, if he needed it. Loki’s rooms were open for anything Tony needed, he only had to ask.

It made Tony’s chest flood with warmth. It didn’t erase the guilt or the remorse, but it helped. 

It gave him the courage to quietly admit, “I broke up with Pepper.”

Loki’s eyes widened.

“I couldn’t stay with her. I couldn’t, not when... not with everything. It wasn’t fair to her, to you, to _me_.” He swallowed. “It was wrong to hurt two people, when I knew in my heart that I wasn’t with the right one.”

Loki sucked in a sharp breath. His expression was disbelieving at first but then it morphed into incredulous _joy_. His hand was tentative when it reached for Tony this time, and Tony stepped closer. Loki gripped him tightly as he pulled Tony against his chest and into a hug.

Tony closed his eyes and breathed in the scent of Loki and relaxed. He brought up his hands and gripped Loki fiercely. God, it almost hurt with how _good_ it felt, knowing he could have this, knowing this was _right_.

He wanted so much, more, _everything_ , but-

“I can’t do this straight away,” he whispered, even while he was shifting to lay his cheek on Loki’s chest.

“Of course,” Loki answered instantly; already understanding everything without being told.

Because Tony needed a bit of time to accept he could have this. He needed time to process the guilt and pain of breaking Pepper’s heart. He _also_ didn’t want to hurt Pepper even more by starting things with Loki less than a fucking _day_ after ending things with her.

But with the way Loki was holding Tony; he knew the mage wouldn’t care about the wait. He could feel the relief and happiness radiating out of Loki.

And like Loki understood him, _Tony_ understood _Loki_.

The mage had thought he was out of the running and had accepted that from the start - but Tony had defied expectations and picked Loki instead. 

Tony knew that Loki would wait as long as he needed, and that thought only relaxed Tony further. Because standing in Loki’s arms felt freeing, it felt like _home_. 

Tony knew that no matter the trials in front of him, he’d made the right choice.

**Author's Note:**

> This story came about from kind of wanting to show the... difference between how Pepper and Loki love/see Tony, at least in my mind. I also wanted the emotional pain of a sort of love triangle scenario, but with Tony making the choice to do something about it. He breaks one heart, for the better of all involved. Even if it hurts in the meantime.
> 
> ... But also my rambles for Loki's side + what happens next:
> 
> Because when Loki gets picked? Well, he's just so happy he was first choice. Tony left someone for Loki. He doesn't want to hurt Tony, and he never angled for that. But he cannot help feeling incredulously happy that Tony loves him that much.
> 
> Because, _Loki_ certainly loves Tony that much. And more than that, he never expected he'd ever gain Tony. (He still wishes he could sooth all of Tony's pain and guilt over what happened with Pepper no matter that it worked out for him.)
> 
> I bet they end up curling up in bed/sharing Loki's bed that night. Just indulging in being able to have something so innocent as a night together, cuddling in bed. Tony leaves in the morning and they probably spend a couple of weeks tactfully not being obvious about things (holding hands when no one can see, standing close and leaning against one another when they're alone)
> 
> And then one day, idk, Tony asks Loki out? And Loki gives him this "are you sure?" searching look and then smiles when he knows Tony is and he says "yes". I can imagine they both grin at each other and this time, unlike all the other times in the past, they finally close the distance and get their first kiss.
> 
>  
> 
> ~~And Pepper will eventually find someone who completes her more, whether that be a lovely guy, or a wonderful lady.~~
> 
>  
> 
> But, ahem, I'll stop rambling now XD

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Chosen](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18752521) by [sofreakinmanyfandoms](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sofreakinmanyfandoms/pseuds/sofreakinmanyfandoms)




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